Joint Region Marianas Religious Ministry Team members attended monthly training Feb. 8 in the chapel aboard submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) for the first time.

The meetings provide chaplains, religious program specialists, and chaplain assistants the training to build professional relationships in order to support one another in the overall mission.

"We were delighted to have U.S. Air Force Colonel Steven Patrick "Pat" McCain, the Pacific Air Forces command chaplain, with us yesterday and for our sister services to see firsthand the ministry on board a U.S. Navy ship," said Cmdr. Timothy R. Moore, region chaplain for JRM.

The JRM Religious Ministry Team's mission is to provide religious ministry, facilitate spiritual support for all faith groups, and care for personnel and dependents throughout the region. JRM is responsible for providing the training to members every month.

The training included a tour of Frank Cable, an hour of training and lunch aboard the ship.

"Trainings are specifically focused in sharpening the team's skills to provide the best possible support to our service members, civilian workforce, and their families," said Moore.

The event concluded with a tour aboard Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Key West (SSN 772).

"The tour on board USS Key West was an added bonus as many Navy chaplains and religious program specialists have never had the opportunity to visit an operational submarine command," said Moore. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Army and Air Force Religious Ministry Team professionals."

A total of 26 personnel are involved in the monthly training sessions. The JRM team is comprised of Department of Defense chaplains, religious program specialists, and chaplain assistants from the Navy, Air Force, Army Reserve, USN hospital, Guam National Guard, and Air National Guard commands on Guam.

Frank Cable is forward deployed to the island of Guam, and conducts maintenance and support of submarines and surface vessels in the 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations.

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